1. Highland Links Golf Club
City: York, ME
Category: Golf
Telephone: (207) 351-2727
Address: 301 Cider Hill Rd.
Description: Just inland in the southern Maine community of York Village, this is about as close to the entrance of the Pine Tree State as a golf addict’s going to get. The nine holes here were built in 1995, and they’re arranged into a fairly short course of 5,599 yards. The setting is pleasant, and golfers will find just about all they need: a pro shop, snack bar, club and cart rentals, a driving range, a practice green, a practice bunker, and instruction to boot. Reserving tee times is a good idea during the high season.
2. The Ledges Golf Club
City: York, ME
Category: Golf
Telephone: (207) 351-9999
Address: One Ledges Dr.
Description: The Ledges was voted the best new public course in New England by Golf Magazine in 1999, and it’s indeed an impressive place. Eighteen holes are laid out across a hilly landscape (views of the Piscataqua River between Maine and New Hampshire can be dramatic at points), and it’s not uncommon to see a critter or two during your round. Water plays a role on a few holes—the par-three 8th, the par-three 11th, the par-four 15th, and the par-five 18th—and there are islands of forests all around the fairways. The porch on the clubhouse is a particularly pleasant feature, and the food is good in the dining room. The pro shop has got what you need, there’s a driving range and a practice green and bunker, and you can rent whatever gear you don’t want to bring. All very nice. Tee times are recommended.
3. Long Sands Beach
City: York, ME
Category: Parks & Recreation
Address: Route 1A
Description: Not many of Maine’s beaches have a designated surfing area, but there’s the sign at Long Sands in York, imploring dudes to hang ten. And they actually gather here when the waves are rolling. Of course, everyone, it seems, comes to this southern Maine favorite on a hot summer afternoon. The beach here stretches for about 1.5 miles, paralleling U.S. Route 1A as it travels between York Harbor and York Beach. When the tide’s out, it exposes about a half mile of sand, and the slope is very gradual, making it a good place to take children. The beach is the heart of a summer colony, and motels line the road for much of its length. Across the street from all of these is metered parking, which goes fast. Lifeguards stand on duty in July and August, and there are both bathhouses and restrooms.
4. Mount Agamenticus
City: York, ME
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (207) 363-1102
Address: Off Mountain Rd.
Description: This 572-foot peak is more of an uppity hill than any sort of self-respecting mountain, but however you look at it, Agamenticus is by far the tallest thing around. As such it makes for a great playground for residents of the South Coast. In summer hikers enjoy the trails up its sides; in autumn, leaf peepers enjoy the prospect from its summit; and in winter it attracts sledders, skiers, and snowboarders galore. The town of York owns the property now, and there’s a tangle of antennas at the top, but it’s still plenty fun to scramble up.
5. Flo’S Steamed Dogs
City: York, ME
Category: Restaurants
Address: Route 1
Description: Expect to wait in line at Flo’s, which has been pulling in the crowds since it opened in 1947. Open only from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the York institution has six stools that fill up fast and a secret hot sauce that keeps people coming back. Hot dogs, chips, soda, and milk—that’s all Flo wrote. Closed Wednesday.
6. Sentry Hill
City: York, ME
Category: Retirement
Telephone: (207) 363-5116
Address: 2 Victoria Court
Description: Location, as they say in real estate, is everything, and that certainly applies to Sentry Hill. The sprawling retirement community sits within walking distance of York Harbor Beach, the York Golf and Tennis Club, and a nature preserve. The resort community of the Yorks—with all its restaurants and shops—are minutes away by car, and the nearest hospital is a half mile down the road. Sentry Hill offers seniors a whole raft of choices, from two-bedroom condo units to one- and two-bedroom apartments to assisted-living apartments where medical staff is at the ready. There’s also a more traditional nursing home and even an option for those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Housekeeping, transportation, and as many as three meals a day are available, too. Units can be rented or purchased outright, and there are maintenance and entry fees. About 150 seniors have moved in already, and more are sure to follow.
7. Bell Farm Antiques
City: York, ME
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (207) 363-8181
Address: 244 Route 1 South
Description: With its red picket fence, curving walkway, and red, cupola-topped shop, Bell Farm is an inviting place. The sign above the porch simply reads antiques, and you’ll find plenty of them. Rex and Judy Lambert run a group shop with two whole floors of Victorian and country furniture, rugs, quilts, art, silver, stoneware, dinnerware, and early glass. Flow blue china, a Maine favorite, is here, too.
8. Stonewall Kitchen
City: York, ME
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (207) 351-2712 or (800) 207-52
Address: Stonewall Lane
Description: Once sold in a farmers’ market stall, Stonewall Kitchen’s delicious specialty foods—jams, jellies, mustards, chutneys, relishes—can now be found all across Maine, and there are company stores in Portland and Camden. But it all began right here in York. The business’s headquarters is right next to the York Chamber of Commerce, and it is perpendicular to the road you hop onto when you take the York exit, so you can’t miss it. A big, colonial-looking complex of buildings with nice courtyards and gardens, Stonewall has an outlet where you can shop, ask questions, and taste products. The company sells an array of cookbooks, as well as some housewares, in addition to its now-famous condiments. There’s also a viewing area next door, where you can watch employees in aprons and hats working machines and conveyors, filling, capping, labeling, and packing the bottles. Stonewall has even expanded into home and garden products. Quite the little empire.
9. Woods To Goods: Maine Prison Product Outlet
City: York, ME
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (207) 363-6001 or (888) 966-37
Address: 891 Route 1
Description: The Maine State Prison store on Route 1 in Thomaston has become well known as a place to buy kitschy prison-made items, and this small York emporium is much the same but farther off the radar of your average tourist. Inside you’ll find all sorts of wares made in the wood shop by inmates—imprisoned from Maine to Oregon—from furniture to lamps to boat models and ship wheels. You’ll find jewelry, kitchenware, toys, birdhouses, and even egg separators.
10. Cape Neddick Light
City: York, ME
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (207) 363-1040
Address: Nubble Rd.
Description: Built in 1879, this 41-foot, cast-iron tower is formally known as Cape Neddick Light, but it’s popularly called the Nubble, the name given to the point it sits on by fishermen long ago. The great irony of the Nubble is that while it’s one of the state’s best-known lights—and one of the most photographed in the world—it sits on a small isle offshore and is all but inaccessible to the public. Originally red, the tower was painted its white color in 1902 and was automated in 1987. The town of York owns the property and maintains the Sohier Park Welcome Center on the mainland within full view of the light. The center has restrooms and lighthouse memorabilia, but you might have to wrestle for a parking space in high summer. The center is open from Memorial Day through Columbus Day from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.